The Most Important Moment in a 15 Year Old Girl's Life
© Pembroke Sinclair
Selene set the alarm for 8:00 a.m., and then double checked to make sure it was on. She lay back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling. The next day she was going to get her driver's permit. Selene had hoped her mom would be taking her, but she had to work, so her dad was going instead. She didn't mind, she rarely spent any time with him because his work schedule was so sporadic. It would be a little harder to convince him to go to the mall after her test, but Selene was sure she could talk him into it. She rolled over and clicked off the light.
At 7:50 she rolled over to find her dad sitting on the end of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. His normally stocky frame looked small, and she noticed that his shoulders were slumped forward and he was staring at an envelope in his hand. Selene felt her stomach knot and her heart leap into her throat.
“Dad? Is everything all right?”
He looked up at her and she noticed that his eyes were red-rimmed and glassy. “I figured I should let you know before you found out on your own.” He took a deep breath and fought back the tears. “It's right there on your birth certificate.” He handed her the envelope.
Mechanically, she took the envelope from, and stared at him with mouth agape and eyes wide. The clock clicked over to 8:00 and the alarm beeped, but Selene didn't hear it. She slid her finger underneath the sealed flap and pulled the certificate out. Selene noticed her hands were shaking as she unfolded the paper. Her eyes scanned the document, and after reading the first couple of lines, she could no longer read the typing through her tears. The man sitting on the end of her bed was not her real father.
***
Pembroke Sinclair enjoys reading, writing, and watching science fiction and fantasy, long hikes in the woods, and poking dead things with a stick. He loves to write about the human condition even though he does not particularly like to be around them. The stories that he has had published are as follows: Guiding the West (Static Movement), Western Experience (chuckhawks.com), Sadhu (The Cynic Online Magazine), Mendicant (The Cynic Online Magazine), Sohei (The Cynic Online Magazine), Dukkha (The Cynic Online Magazine), Lonely Space (NVF Magazine), and The Soul Collector (NVF Magazine Issues 8). If you'd like to contact him, he can be reached at pembrokesinclair@hotmail.com .